'GunValkerie' Anybody own this yet? (1 Viewer)

[Trevor_J]

I read the review on IGN (gasp! for free too!) but I'd like to here some impressions from anyone here who has played it. I'm thinking of picking this one up but it's not out in Canada yet.

Damn, this has been a hard month on my bank account.

 

[Dan B]

Yeah, c'mon people, lets hear the scoop!
I'll probably buy this one eventually, but I have enough bills games to keep me busy for this month.
-Dan B
note to self: do not pass any videogame retailers on the drive home today

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

I'll be picking it up this afternoon.

 

[Romier S]

Got it this morning. Heres my mini-review:
I played through the first 3 levels so far. My opinion? I think its fantastic. This game is really for those with tons of patience and the desire to learn. The controls are not easy. Plain and simple. There is no other way to say it. That does not equal bad however. Control wise the game is very responsive, but you really have to learn how to boost dash and especially boost jump! (you have to STAY IN THE AIR!)
Enemies will swarm the hell out of you. They will surround you and just smack the daylights out of Kelly if you dont get airborn. Once in the air you can boost dash forward and to the sides. If you hit back on the left stick it will make you hover (really useful) in the air. You can then target and destroy the enemies below you. GV is all about technique.
The left analog moves your character and the right analog lets you look around. I do have a bit of a problem with the right analog as the look is inverted and that is something I'm still getting used too (No option to change either:frowning. Clicking on the left analog and pushing forward, left, right and back will boost dash in that direction. Clicking on the right analog stick and forward, left, right and back will face the character in the direction you pushed. (kind of quick turning). The quick turning takes quite a bit to get used to but once you get it down it isn't too difficult. No game that has come before plays like this one. Smilebit went out of its way to make sure GV was "unique" in the play department,
The left trigger makes you jump and right trigger is to shoot your weapon.
Graphically the game is gorgeus. The texture quality is beautiful. The character models are fantastic and you feel like your on another world. Definitely a good bit of eye candy in this one.
The music is decent. Nothing to go crazy over but it sets the mood well. Sound effects are nice though I would have liked to hear more screams and shrills from the creatures you are destroying.
Gameplay so far is in essence fight! fight! fight!. I can see how this may get a bit repetitive later on but Ill reserve judgement on that until I'm further into the game. You really are learning as you go. The more acclimated you get to the controls the more butt you will kick and the better you will feel. The story is interesting and its keeping me pretty interested. After each level you get a grade (ala Devil May Cry) and you can purchase upgrades to your gearskin and guns (very similiar again to Devil May Cry). The upgrades do make quite a difference and aren't just there for show.
All in all this one is going to go right under the radar. Some will love it. Some will hate it. Others will just avoid it because of what they heard so far. From the first three levels I've experienced, I'm in the positive corner. Its a quality title that deserves a try. It isn't easy. It will take a awhile before you get used to things but its worth it. Closing statement: Sega comes through (for me at least) again.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Nice mini-review, Romier, thanks! From reading the IGN review and your impressions, it does seem like one of the tougher games out there. Funny, first Smilebit releases Jet Set and people complain it's too easy, and now GV and everyone complains it's too hard...

At any rate, I've read enough to know it's at least a rental. That's one thing I love about having a hard drive: you can rent a game, play it for five days, and if you like it you can buy it and be right where you were when you left off on the rental. Sweet!

Thanks again, and if you get the chance I'd love to hear your impressions as you get further along.

 

[Dan B]

Thanks for the impressions, Romier. When you say the right thumbstick { EDITED MARCH 23 - I had typed trigger instead of thumbstick } look is inverted, can you clarify which way that is? When you push up on the stick, do you look up or the other way around? That does suck that they didn't allow you to choose.
I'm really glad that the game is "tough". Games these days are too damn easy. When I was a kid, games were hard & we liked it!
Dave, I agree with what you said about keeping saves on the hard drive. One of these days, I'll finally rent Silent Hill 2 again & finish it. I don't want to play it too many days in a row because it would push me over the edge.
-Dan B
old school gamer

 

[Romier S]

When you say the right trigger look is inverted, can you clarify which way that is? When you push up on the stick, do you look up or the other way around?

When you push up you look down, when you push down you look up.

It takes some adjustment for me as I prefer it the other way around. When I push up I want to look up. You can tell from playing the game Smilebit was really deliberate on how they wanted this to control. I suppose that is why they didn't add the option to change the invert function. (Though I still think they should have added it. Choices are a good thing.)

I'm at work right now so I can't report much else but I'm jumping into the game with 2 feet when I get home (along with VF4).

 

[Andy Sheets]

I just got done playing through my first session with the game. Went through the first three levels. I haven't come close to dying yet (unless you count falling into the chasm on level 2) but I keep getting D's on my performance grades. Obviously I still a need a lot of practice Though it's tough to master, the control scheme actually is pretty intuitive, and the game does a good job of letting you go at your own pace to learn, at least as far as I've played. I really like this jetpack gimmick, though. They did a great job of simulating just the right feeling of weight in how your character moves. Now that I think of it, has there ever been a game that had a gimmick like this that also had really easy controls? I still totally suck at Gravitar even though I quite like that game
Of course, graphically it's just gorgeous. Definitely one of the best looking Xbox titles (stylistically, I think they could have done just a bit more with the steampunk look of the game but that's just me). Sound effects are just there - not bad but nothing so far has stood out either.
So far, it seems like a very good game. Not the kind of thing I'd recommend if you're looking for "the next AAA title" but it's one of those games that does a good job of filling out the library.

 

[Dave F]

C'mon people, I gotta know before I go to work tomorrow: widescreen or no?
-Dave

 

[Dan B]

Does anyone else have anything to add? I feel like a trip to Best Buy this evening.
I see that Gamespot has reviewed it here. "6.2 - Gunvalkyrie is almost a good game..." :frowning:
-Dan

 

[Romier S]

Gunvalkyrie is almost a good game..."

They are entitled to thier opinion but I think that statement above is hogwash. Its a good game. If you like old school 2d platformers and shooters youll love this since it has that same basic feel. (though in 3d of course.). As noted the controls do take some getting used to but after 30 minutes you should have things down pat.

By the way the first boss battle wwas really damn neat!

 

[Dan B]

Well of course I couldn't resist the Smilebit yummy-ness & I picked the game up this evening. I probably won't get a chance to post my impressions until tomorrow.

-Dan "Sega can take all of my money" B.

 

[Trevor_J]

Thanks for the impressions guys. Looks like I will be picking this one up.
I must be crazy. I still haven't finished Azurik, NFL Fever, Tony Hawk 2x, Wreckless, Air Force Delta Storm, Rally Sport Challenge, PGR, and JSRF.
Sigh, not enough hours in the day.....
:frowning:

 

[Dave F]

16:9 !
-Dave

 

[Romier S]

Thanks for verifying it for me Dave. When we spoke last night I didn't really have a chance to make sure but It looked to be.

 

[Dave F]

Heh, I was really expecting it to be 4:3 only. I kept trying to find proof that I was watching a streched image.
Gorgeous game. I just hope I can get used to boosting.
-Dave

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

I played it for about 3hrs last night. The control is some what ackward, but didn't stop me from enjoying the game. I'm definitely glad I bought it.

 

[Tim Hess]

I'm a bit late with this as there have been many posts on it already, but I picked it up this afternoon.
I've just beaten the first boss.
Who ever is saying the control is too hard isn't taking the time to get used to the game or just can't handle having to process the amount of information needed to be fluid.

• Flying around and boosting left, boosting right, up, down, in and out is spot on.
• Staying a float with no boost reserve is so important once you learn how (and FUN).
• Hovering is key (for me).

My girfriend was watching me play (she enjoys watching good games), and I've told her that it might take a me a bit to get used to the controls. While playing the first few missions, she mentions that I'm doing some pretty cool stuff (staying afloat with no boost reserve, boosting, dodging, doing a 180 and locking on to multiples) all while not getting hit, and I'm not a 100% of the time inverted player. I look like I know what I'm doing, so it can't be that hard.
The only flaws I've found thus far:

• Controls - The lack of being able to invert the controls (some people are just not that way and can't adapt, it's just that way for some people, I'm already used to it)
• Save Feature - Not being able to jump back in missions to get better scores (perhaps I haven't figured that out yet?).
• Looking/Aiming - It's not bad having to do click the right stick to do a 180 degree turn, but it would have been so much easier to be able to have 'free look' for the full 180 degrees, having a limited range of aiming and viewing can prove trying sometimes.
• Music - No sound track feature

Music is ok, story is ok (lite but well written), front-end is easy to navigate. Would have been nice to have a small on-screen map instead of an off-screen on.
The game is FUN, it has the SEGA feel in every way. If you like shooters get the game, spend some time learing the controls not bitching about having to LEARN something new.
This game makes me want an on-line version of Virtual On.
EDIT: after playing through some more (Valley 2) I'm not sure I want to keep playing : The game is hard, no doubt about it, I like that aspect, but I just spent an hour getting no where in the game (30 min. time limit on one level), I'm not so sure about losing hours more with nothing to show, even for the effort.

 

[Romier S]

Save Feature - Not being able to jump back in missions to get better scores (perhaps I haven't figured that out yet?).

You unlock this ability after you beat the game.

 

[Scott Simonian]

How do you do the napalm attack. I know I have to have a full blue (energy?) bar. But how do I make this 360 blast I heard about?